Travel New Brunswick by Motorcycle

Monday, October 21, 2013

I woke up nice and early and got the bike packed up and then
headed for breakfast. The Quality Inn Pres du Lac has a fabulous hot breakfast
with a great offering of continental breakfast items as well.

With a full belly, I mounted up and headed for Woodstock
where a fellow rider, Kevin Sutherland, was joining me to head into
Fredericton. Kevin is with the Blue Knights and he ensured that I got to our
meeting point in Fredericton on time!

This was going to be an exciting day for me, I was going to
meet up with a ton of riders in Fredericton to go to Oromocto/Gage Town and in
the afternoon I was going to get to take part in the changing of the guard!

We pulled up to the Lord Beaverbrook Hotel and were greeted
by such a site –30 bikers and Mayor Brad Woodside himself were there to meet
me.

The Road Dawgs made me an honorary member of their riding
club and I got to share hugs with Sue Lawrence of the Fredericton noise bylaw
fight and my old friend Brian Stuart from Toys for Big Boys in Moncton.

After a few photos and a ton of hugs, we were off with
Headley from the Fredericton Ride for Dad acting as road captain.

Our first stop of the day was in Oromocto/Gagetown where members
of CAV and the mayor of Oromocto, Robert Powell, met us.

Robert Powell - Mayor of Oromocto

It was a powerful and moving time as I shared with over 40
riders as to why I was riding across Canada to raise funds and awareness for
the causes of our veterans. We shared
tears and hugs and then went to Timmy’s for a coffee and to plan the rest of
the day’s riding.

The gang that was able to stay with me for the afternoon
took me on some wonderful windy roads away from the main highway.

It’s wonderful to ride with the locals in any region – they
always know the best routes and places to eat!

We went to a funky little pub called the Old Boot Pub for a
late lunch. We had a blast there and Gord of the CAV gifted me with the most
amazing “House Wife” from the 505 Ladders.
A tiny little mending kit that he asked me to keep in the pocket of my
vest. It’s still there and will stay there!

Getting ready to eat at the Old Boot Pub

Onion rings

The food was wonderful – the onion rings were ENORMOUS! The
service was great and the company was impeccable – what more can you ask
for? Well – Brenda Moxon was able join
us! Brenda was integral to the fight
against the motorcycle only noise bylaw in Fredericton and had just had surgery
so she wasn’t on the ride with us. It was so good to finally meet her and get a
hug!

Brenda Moxon

After lunch a bunch of us headed back to Fredericton via
some more twisty little roads. I was honored to inspect the guard at the
Changing of the Guard ceremony at 4 pm. Jumper gave me his Paratroopers Beret
to wear and ensured the it was creased properly and that the Paratroopers badge
was placed just right!

A Company coming into the square

Being asked to inspect the guard with my very sharp looking beret thanks to Jumper

The beaver on their belts

The beaver on their helmets

The Lord Beaverbrook Statue

It was to be a fitting end to an amazing day in support of
our troops.

You see the Canadian Army was born in 1884 with the
establishment of the Infantry School Corps, Company 'A' in Fredericton. Their coat of arms bears the Beaver as a part
of their tradition and connection to Lord Beaverbrook.

Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Max Aitken, who was an expatriate
Canadian millionaire, employed artists, photographers, and cinematographers to
record the war for future generations and in early 1916, Beaverbrook
established the Canadian War Records Office using his own funds. The CWRO
publicized Canadians' role and gathered and created records to document the
war.

Lord Beaverbrook was the Chancellor of the University of New
Brunswick from 1947 until 1964. New
Brunswick was his home as a child. He was raised in Newcastle NB although he
was born in Maple Ontario.

In spite of living a good amount of time in Great Britain, he
never ever forgot his roots and how much he loved New Brunswick. He ensured
that Fredericton had a magnificent art gallery, town hall and skating rink
among other things.

After the changing of the guard, I went to Sue Lawrence’s
Hair Spa & Gallery. Sue is a
hairstylist and so much more. She is a champion of local art and provides local
artisans with a place to display and sell their creations.

Located in the old Gaiety theatre, Sue took all of her
creative talent to create a place that is warm, inviting, eclectic and fun.

A tribute to the theatre her shop now inhabits

Amazing Art

Fun stuff

Lots of local art for sale

Peaceful stuff

The Dragoon

Sue showing me the styling chairs accompanied by local art

Hair products

Sue's chair

She offers spa services and has many therapists working
here.

Wonderfully decorated therapy rooms

The place is truly fun – there is no other word for it and
like the lady who owns it, this place exudes a vibrant energy. I spent a good
amount of time taking in the art; the woodwork and all of the interesting
sculptures while listening to Sue explain who made this or who created
that.

I could have spent a lot more time there than I was able to,
that’s for sure.

After my tour of her store, Sue went home to get supper
ready and I went over to the Lord Beaverbrook Crowne Plaza Hotel and got
checked in. Headley helped me get my
bags to the room. He and I had a coffee
and gabbed for a bit while I waited for Sue Lawrence to call about dinner.

This hotel is amazing. Opulent but not stuffy, I felt so
comfortable here. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful and the room
was to die for. They had this wonderful
relaxation kit on the bed filled with a spray, face cram and foot balms all
meant to sooth and relax. After my night
at Zeeland (what Sue calls her place) I took full advantage of the kit and fell
in love with the calming and soothing effects.

A gorgeous lobby

My amazing room

I finally got my call, it appeared that Brenda Moxon was
going to be picking me up.

Headley and I said our goodbyes, he was off to a BBQ with
friends elsewhere but would pick me up in the morning to ride out to Kings
Landing with me.

Brenda and her hubby showed up with their son to take me out
to Sue’s place.

We had a wonderful meal, shared some wine and conversation
and made plans for the next morning to take in King’s Landing.

As many times as I have been to New Brunswick, I had never
been to King’s Landing and I was excited, as I had heard so many wonderful
stories about the place.

After a great night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, I packed
up my bike. Headley arrived and

we headed off to King’s Landing, about 40 KM’s west of
Fredericton, where we were to get a guided tour of this historical village.

From the minute we walked in to the visitor’s centre I knew I
was in for a special time.

The place is utterly magnificent. The furniture, the exhibits and the people were totally captivating.

I was introduced to the man who would be my tour guide and
was totally taken back to the 19th century.

Built in the late 1960’s, King’s Landing is a collection of
buildings that have been moved from various parts of New Brunswick to
facilitate the construction of a hydro-electric dam that raised the St. John
River over 150 feet.

This place is immense and is filled with area homes that
have been thoroughly researched and are a factual representation of the families
who once lived in them. The horse and
cart that took us around past some of the buildings dropped us off up by the
water mill and from there we walked all through the various homes and buildings
that are part of the interactive displays.

The site map from the Kings Landing Web Site

Every home and trading area that is represented has been
restored to a different time period.

An beautiful dining room

Inside one of the period specific homes

A family sized outhouse

Inside the family sized outhouse

You will see the changes in the clothing, the architecture,
the utensils and the equipment as you move through this living museum.

Hand made brooms for sale

Local crafts for sale

Quilting wasn't just a pass time

Running water inside one of the old homes

Sheep were important to survival

Simple accommodations

The Blacksmith Shop

One of the many period actors

The Church

The general store sold coffins

The local candy shop - excellent offerings here

A peddlers carriage

The Saint John River

The site is gorgeous

The water mill

Period dressed actors and actresses make this an interactive
museum too.

They are hilarious and never go out of period/character!

The school marm on the left was shall we say STRICT

This gals husband was a sore spot buying all roosters and no hens

Inside the general store I was asked to help with a checkers game

The actors really get into their work

Flax being prepared for spinnning

Getting a lesson on spinning

I was taken to spin yarn, feed the hogs, interact in the general
store, and be scolded by the school marm!

I had a hoot!

The pig stye

Feeding the hog

The Kings Head - yes it's a restaurant pub and you can buy a meal here

Inside the pub at the Kings Head

Inside one of the many eating rooms

One of the waitresses

The back entrance to the Kings Head

A water trough made from a log

I found it very interesting that many of the gardens you see
throughout the place are heritage gardens filled with plants that are all but
extinct. But are specific to the period represented by the farm house they were
grown at.

One of the vegetable gardens

One of many amazing heritage flower gardens

I watched a dog-powered butter churn in action and a horse
powered saw as well.

Horse Powered Saw

At the end of my tour, I met back up with Headley and headed
to the parking lot.

I was pleasantly surprised to meet a crew of cadets and
their commanding officer who agreed to have their photo taken with me.

The cadets

Sue and her man Eric along with another couple were waiting
for me and the trip to St. John. We would be
having a late lunch there, getting me checked in at my hotel and taking in the
New Brunswick Museum! It was going to be
a busy afternoon and I couldn’t wait!

We rode under pleasant skies and perfect temperatures to
Saint John, it’s a short ride up highway 7, only 113 KM’s and we were meeting a
crew from the CAV and a few other riding clubs.